Brad Keselowski reacts to new personal conduct rules
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
On Friday, NASCAR announced rule-book revisions for offenses both on and off the track.
For the first time in the sport's history, the sanctioning body has outlined specific penalties for specific behavioral infractions committed by competitors in all three major NASCAR series.
For example, disparaging the sport and/or NASCAR's leadership could result in a driver being fined $10,000-$50,000 and/or placed on probation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Likewise, deliberately wrecking a championship contender in a manner similar to what Matt Kenseth did to Joey Logano last year at Martinsville Speedway could result in a loss of 50-100 points, massive fines and other possible sanctions that include indefinite suspension.
A day after NASCAR distributed the new guidelines to competitors at Daytona International Speedway, Brad Keselowski offered his reaction.
Asked if he had read the new policies, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion responded in the affirmative.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"I did," Keselowski told a handful of reporters gathered at his No. 2 hauler a couple hours after Saturday's final practice for the Daytona 500. "I didn't see anything, really, in it. It felt like kind of common sense to me."
NASCAR came under some scrutiny last October with its two-race suspension of Kenseth for wrecking Logano at Martinsville in retaliation for their run-in two weekends earlier at Kansas Speedway.
In the latter instance, Logano was the race leader while Kenseth was running multiple laps down. At Kansas, Kenseth spun after a bump from Logano while the two raced for the lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
While many in the sport agreed with the penalty against Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing appealed, arguing that precedent didn't warrant such severe consequences.
The suspension was ultimately upheld by NASCAR's chief appellate officer, resulting in Kenseth missing back-to-back races at Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.
Asked on Saturday if NASCAR's move to spell out specific consequences for specific actions was needed, Keselowski demurred.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"No, but I'm not a lawyer or someone that would go through those processes that would need it spelled out," Keselowski said. "It seems pretty simple to me. It seems very common sense. Don't commit a felony or crime or do something dumb, and you'll keep your spot in the sport."
Prior to the new guidelines for behavioral offenses, has Keselowski ever wondered how NASCAR would react to a particular action of his?
"No, no, not in the least," he said. "I think the only real concern is -- and this is a concern for all of society -- is as a society even though the law doesn't state it this way, we've turned into a guilty-until-proven-innocent society. And there's a lot of concern about that. But I think in (NASCAR's) system they've made it clear to say there would be some reviews in those cases."